“This was my heart, my choice and my health.”

For all the talk about the awesomeness of socialized healthcare, everyone knows the truth: if you have money you come to the country that leads the way in medical innovation precisely because its medicine isn’t government run. You come to where it pays to be a doctor, so you know you’re getting the best and the brightest. You come to America, why wouldn’t you?

And if you can’t, you wait on a line, hoping not to die before its your turn. Don’t believe me? Listen to the Premier (who was told his “problem had become severe and urged him to get his valve repaired immediately or risk heart failure”):

“I would’ve been criticized if I had stayed in Canada and had been perceived as jumping a line or a wait list. … I accept that. That’s public life,” he said.

“(But) this is not a unique phenomenon to me. This is something that happens with lots of families throughout this country, so I make no apologies for that.”

Williams said his decision to go to the U.S. did not reflect any lack of faith in his own province’s health care system.

And if you believe that, I’ve got a bridge in Newfoundland and Labrador to sell you.

C’mon, Karol, you know that by the same token, many Americans travel to Newfoundland for their healthcare !

Ha, ha, ha.

At least that blowhard had to admit that Canadians DO have to wait in line.
That’s a victory in itself.

Nonetheless, the left wing nuts will continue to insist how wonderful Canadian healthcare is.
Yes, and then they’ll get in the car and drive across the border to America.

Posted by: IAmTheWalrus at February 24, 2010 at 1:29 pm

Yes, and then they’ll get in the car and drive across the border to America.

If they still have money left after paying for their “free” healthcare.

Posted by: Karol at February 24, 2010 at 1:42 pm

well, i live in the us and having just done my taxes i realized that when i tally federal, state, city, social security, fica, etc., i paid a rate higher than the marginal tax rate of many european countries. of course to be comparable, you then add in my employer sponsored, high deductible health plan… i’m not including vat of course, nor our american forms of state and city sales taxes and various surcharges…

i’m not actually supportive of obamacare, but i certainly wouldn’t mind getting something for my tax dollars other than a military kleptocracy.

Posted by: jocko at February 24, 2010 at 3:43 pm

I would rather my tax dollars went to the military than to social programs I will never get any benefit from.

Military kleptocracy….really ?? Kleptocracy, maybe…

72% of federal spending “gives something back” (medicare/SS/non-discretionary such as “health” and education)

20% of federal spending goes to defense spending..

8% interest on debt

Throw in the state and local budget the defense spending is dwarfed.

Leaving out vat is not negated by leaving out sales tax. You also conveniently use marginal tax rate instead of effective tax rate, pay as you go, eh mate ? Gotta love that fictional next dollar of earnings to prove a point.

Lots of Canadians are livid about this. I don’t blame them, either. Question is, will they actually make him pay for it?

Posted by: James at February 24, 2010 at 9:37 pm

I agree with Walrus. Similar to the global warming, or is it climate change pyschos, whateer, same breed of person. Doesn’t matter if the fact hits you in the face they will continue on with their position. that tells you what you need to know that it is never about the issue they claim to advance. It is about control. Because if they really want to get cost down you open up the market. One last thing. Since when does reform = expansion?

Posted by: Rick at February 25, 2010 at 1:54 am

“I would’ve been criticized if I had stayed in Canada and had been perceived as jumping a line or a wait list. … I accept that. That’s public life,” he said.

Spoken like a true elitist — as if his only two choices were to go to the US for his heart surgery, or to jump the line ahead of the little people.

WRONG. He could (and should) have chosen the third option: wait in line like all the rest of the Canadian serfs. But no, important people like Williams don’t have to live by the rules they set of others. I hope he recovers quickly so he can get back to the important business of running other peoples’ lives.

Posted by: kostas at February 25, 2010 at 2:25 am

i absolutely was thinking the same thing as commenter kostas above.

it’s not like he couldn’t have waited his turn like any other Canadian trapped in that system.

Posted by: ShyAsrai at February 25, 2010 at 6:49 am

dan, you’re a man who never lets a few facts get in your way. i like that.

sales tax is higher in chicago. 10.25% last time i was there.

20% military spending leaves out the cost of people, including health care and continuing benefits. all in, greater than 50% of non-debt service spending.

in this case, marginal rates are higher than the “base” rates.

Posted by: jocko at February 25, 2010 at 11:01 am

We may have to agree to disagree but….

In a graduated tax system your marginal rate will always be higher than your effective rate if you have earnings. Effective tax rates in the US are significantly lower than most European countries. In addition you get the benefit of the best military in the world. Ironically, that benefit is also extended to all of those Europeans/Canadians suffering from socialized medicine.

My percentage includes the DoD budget and the Dept of Vet’s affairs for 2010. What is included in your 50% “fact” ?

Posted by: dan dee man at February 25, 2010 at 1:00 pm

As a liberal Canadian (hey, is that a redundant term for you folks?) I was also shocked to hear about Danny Williams. Politicians will often discuss the failures of our system, including wait times etc. but to voluntarily go to the US for better service has gone over like a lead balloon north of the 49th.

The actual FY2009 and projected FY2010 numbers are there in black and white. Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid are double what we spend on the military. Hell, unemployment benefits are a quarter of what we spend on the military. Interest paid on the public debt is nearly a third of what we spend on the military.

I personally believe we spend too much on our military and are intervening in too much, but to call us a “military kleptocracy” is bullshit. It’s a welfare state kleptocracy, because the recipients of the government dole are the same ones who wield power. We’re nominally a republic but indeed function as a true democracy in which the voters use elected officials to vote themselves other people’s wealth.

It might be helpful to this liberal idiot if we stated plainly that a marginal rate by definition is no less than the base rate. As you said, earnings make the effective rate higher. That idiot might as well have written, “in this case, two plus two equals four.”

When you mentioned Europeans and Canadians getting the benefit of the U.S. military, you must have been thinking of Gates telling NATO to shape up? But why should they, when they know they’ll just depend on the U.S. time after time? These days, I just sigh because it’s become completely hopeless. European nations are as dependent on our military, expecting us to take care of them, just like their own people expect the government to take care of them.